Robust Advanced Placement programs are often seen as a seal of
quality for high schools. And in its quest for excellence, Texas
has seen an explosion of the classes that offer the promise and
prestige of college credit.

But the latest data show Texas high school students fail more
than half of the college-level exams, and their performance trails
national averages.

Some say Texas failure rates are higher because more students
from an increasingly diverse pool take AP classes here. But high
failure rates from some of the Dallas area's elite campuses raise
questions about whether our most advantaged high school students
are prepared for college work.

"It is clear that even a traditionally sort of middle-achieving
white student may not do well ... if they are not prepared," said
Trevor Packer, who oversees the Advanced Placement program for the
College Board.

A Dallas Morning News analysis of Advanced Placement data
found:

•54 percent of AP exams taken by Texas public high school
students this year received failing scores, defined as a 1 or 2 out
of 5. The national failure rate was 43 percent.

•Subjects with some of the highest failure rates in Texas
include history, economics and biology.

•At top campuses like Highland Park High School and some of
Dallas' elite magnet schools, about half or more of AP exams taken
by 2008 graduates received failing marks.

•Students in Texas private schools failed 27 percent of
their AP exams this year, compared with 54 percent of public school
students.

Some say they aren't surprised by the failing rates at some
schools, because AP was never supposed to be an agent of reform for
low-performing schools.

Opening AP to all

Twenty-plus years ago, AP was largely limited to top students at
competitive schools. Those handpicked students usually performed
well come exam time.

Then educators and policymakers decided AP should be open to all
students - advanced or average, rich or poor, black or Hispanic or
white. In Texas, incentive programs supported by private donors
have given cash awards to students and teachers for passing scores.
Many states, including Texas, subsidize the $86 exam fee for some
students to encourage participation.

Schools are often now judged by their AP offerings - the more,
the better. Newsweek, for example, ranks high schools based only on
how many students take top level exams but doesn't consider how the
students score. Dallas ISD's School for the Talented and Gifted and
the School of Science and Engineering were ranked Nos. 1 and 2 this
year, because both show that more than 95 percent of students take
the tests. The passage rate (of students scoring a 3 or higher)
from TAG is 63 percent, while the science and engineering magnet
shows a 48 percent success rate.

With much of the attention focused on participation, it is no
surprise that the number of Texas students taking AP exams each
year has mushroomed. In two decades, the number of test-takers rose
from 12,000 to nearly 160,000 - that's more than 10 percent of all
high school students.

The growth and democratization of AP has also meant more exam
failures. Some educators see no problem with that.

"Even those students that make a 1 or a 2 are better off for
taking the course and taking the exam," she said.

Researchers in Texas found that students who score 1s or 2s on
Advanced Placement exams did not perform as well in college as
those who scored 3 or higher, and they did only marginally better
than students who took no AP exams.

College admissions officers say they like to see AP classes on
an applicant's transcript.

"They've been exposed to the kind of intellectual discourse and
thinking that's important to being a successful college student,"
said Ron Moss, SMU's dean of undergraduate admissions.

Zeal for readiness

Kristin Klopfenstein, a Texas Christian University economist who
has extensively studied AP, said the disappointing scores show that
educators and policymakers may have misused Advanced Placement in
their zeal to ready students for college.

"They ended up helicopter-dropping AP programs into all these
schools that were challenged, low-performing schools," she said.
"To just plunk down these high expectations without providing the
support these kids need to meet them, it's no wonder you end up
with all these kids failing these exams."

A Dallas Morning News analysis shows that poverty has influenced
failing test scores much more than exploding participation.

To Klopfenstein, it raises the question of whether the resources
and emphasis spent on AP would be better invested elsewhere.

That may already be happening, as some high school students are
instead opting for dual-credit classes because they provide college
credit without having to pass the AP test. These classes are taught
by community college instructors.

Teacher preparation

Kelly Callaway, the director of advanced academics at the Texas
Education Agency who oversees AP, said there are a number of
reasons for failing AP exams, but one rises to the top.

"From our point of view, it is a matter of teacher preparation,"
she said.

Stacey McMullen, a veteran AP calculus teacher in the Dallas
school district, is also convinced that good teaching makes all the
difference. She travels around DISD training other AP calculus
teachers.

Recently at Seagoville High School, the AP calculus room buzzed
with talk of second derivatives and rates of change. McMullen drew
a problem on the big white board while her students worked on it in
small groups, armed with colored markers and small dry-erase
boards.

Senior Julia Hall said she had a different experience in another
AP class last year. "We just reviewed chapters out of the book,"
she said. "When I got to the test, I had no idea what they were
asking me." She scored a 1.

Viviana Cruz, a junior at Newman Smith High in Carrollton, said
she rocked the Spanish language AP test last year, scoring a 5. But
she received only a 2 on an AP history exam.

She partly blames herself, saying she overpacked her schedule
with too many difficult classes. But she also believes her
instructor, who was teaching the AP class for the first time, could
have done a better job.

"We had only covered 18 out of 44 chapters," Cruz said.

At top-ranked Highland Park High, nearly 90 percent of juniors
and seniors take at least one AP exam. This year 40 percent of
Highland Park's AP exams received marks of 1 or 2, and last year it
was 46 percent of all exams. Students excel in history, calculus
and biology. But on the economics, psychology, human geography and
computer science exams, the most common score is a 1.

"We're concerned about it," assistant principal Marta Gott said.
"We want our kids to do well and earn college credit where they
can."

Callaway said the push for students to take on tough classes has
to be balanced with teacher training and a structure for preparing
students earlier in their school careers "so that students aren't
suddenly thrown into a rigorous course for the first time when they
are a junior in high school."

Staff writer Diane Rado contributed to this report. WHAT IS
ADVANCED PLACEMENT?

•The Advanced Placement program, run by the nonprofit
College Board, offers college-level classes in more than 30
subjects, including calculus, chemistry, Spanish and
psychology.

•High school students take AP exams in May to see whether
they've mastered the material. The exams contain both multiple
choice questions and free-response items that require essays,
problem-solving and other skills.

•Scores range from a low of 1 to a high of 5, with 3 or
higher considered passing.

•Most colleges will award college credit for scores of at
least a 3, though sometimes they require at least a 4.

•Many states, including Texas, subsidize the $86 exam fee
for students to encourage participation.